Latest Posts by the-horned-raven - Page 2

“The lack of materials or tool should never prevent a witch from performing magick.”

— Mat Auryn, Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick, and Manifestation (via libercoven)

“Imagination is a necessary ingredient of perception itself.”

— Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason

Crow counting

Edit: I didn’t explain what crow counting was, oops! It’s basically a way of divination using the number of crows in a murder (what a lovely word for a flock of crows btw), taking them as an omen or sign. This only really works if crows aren’t a usually occurrence (as how it works with most signs)

One crow-

Bad luck, loss, sorrow

Two crows-

Good luck, a major change, joy

Three crows-

A wedding or celebration, the birth of a girl

Four crows-

New beginnings, the birth of a boy

Five crows-

Money coming, good business

Six crows-

Major money change, could be a loss or a gain

Seven crows-

A secret, mystery, or curse

Eight crows-

Life changing experience (usually positive)

Nine crows-

Love, positive recognition

Ten crows-

Major turn around or change in life

Eleven crows-

News, surprises, secrets revealed

Twelve crows-

Good luck, completion, fulfillment

Thirteen crows-

Completion, the end of a journey

more info from my grimoire notes! Hopefully this one will get as much attention as the salt post (that’s been blowing up oh my gods!), it’s kinda crazy how much people like salt!

Ada Limón, from The Carrying; “Sometimes I think my body leaves a shape in the air”

from love as an act of merciful conquer by silas denver melvin

click for better quality (my instagram)

[Text ID: “you want to be loved if only to prove it possible: to tell the world that someone saw you as a conquest & came back alive. that above all else, you are worthy of the risk, the effort. you want someone to serve you the evidence: (in italics) you are not as damned as you think you are. you are not as damned as you think you are (end italics)”. /End ID]

Nuala Archer, From The hour of Pan/amá; “Longing for community, Portrait Series: Plague of Inc.’est”

(Source: Pinterest)

Ways to Celebrate Pretty Much Every Pagan Holiday

(And most of these work no matter how discreet you have to be!)

Food- No holiday is complete without a feast! Have a potluck, try a new recipe in the kitchen, or just contemplate your usual dinner and be thankful that you have food. Lots of sabbats have popular recipes or ingredients that you could try making, or incorporate those types of foods into your meals.

Spend Time Outdoors- Have a picnic, go on a walk, or just sit on a chair and observe nature for a little while. Feel the air and observe how the seasons have changed.

Pay it Forward- Celebrate family, do something nice for your friends, or volunteer in your community.  Go out and help people. ‘Tis the season!

Clean and Cleanse- A lot of holidays focus on some type of new beginnings. Clean your space and cleanse yourself of any residual energies you may be holding onto. Getting everything tidy and organized is a great way to give yourself a foundation for the coming year, no matter when that year begins!

Self Reflect- Think about where you were 365 days ago. How much you’ve grown, what you’ve gained and lost, what lessons you have been taught. What are your goals for the future? What is your next step?

Regular Worship- If you have any deities that you regularly interact with, consider giving them an offering and thanking them for just being a part of your life.

in this terrifying world you continuously have the power to offer someone else a little relief . why would you withhold that. do you remember what a little relief feels like? it feels like a lot

the overwhelming desire to just exist without having to prove one’s worth in the false world of commodity and personality production

Methods of Spell Work

To Banish: • Burning to ashes and sweeping away the ashes • Cast out a window, down a cliffside, etc • Bury it and spit on the spot

To Bind: • Wrap in black thread • Cover in wax or other material • Seal in jar and hide in dark spot

To Hide: • Wrap in ribbon • Place in a (painted) black jar or other container • Cover in cloth or other material and bury

To Encourage: • Plant or bury near the front door/steps • Plant or bury near a window • Place near a window

To Communicate*: • Anoint a candle • Leave out an offering • Meditate • Open the front door and/or windows

To Glamour: • Leave under the full moon • Work with its reflection

To Cleanse: • Bury in salt • Burn herbs and pass through the smoke • Let it bathe in the moonlight

To Protect: • Leave sigils/wards on doors and windows • Carry sigils/wards on every day items (keys, phone case, etc) • Enchant jewelry with protection spells

*: Communication with deities, spirit guides, etc

“There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves, we feel that no one else has a right to blame us. It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.”

— Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (via philosophybits)

“Why does tragedy exist? Because you are full of rage. Why are you full of rage? Because you are full of grief.”

— Anne Carson, from “Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides”

“The most memorable people in life will be the friends who loved you when you weren’t very lovable.”

— Aidan Chambers

fuck disappearing under mysterious circumstances i want to start APPEARING under mysterious circumstances. walking through a deserted eerie forest? im there. exploring an abandoned 1930s mine that no human has set foot in for 55 years? there too. touching down on mars? guess whose annoying face you see poking out from behind a rover

Please, don’t joke about someone’s weight, facial features, insecurities, trauma, appearances, misery and scars. Know that those things are very sensitive. Please be kind always.

something deeply intimate about being outside early in the morning all alone and seeing the world as she is

Why are ‘witch tips’ always like “use quartz as a substitute for any crystal!” and not the good stuff like “River spirits are almost always looking to fuck shit up, so if you rile em up and then feed them a name, they’ll lay someone tf out.”

Witchcraft #15

If you're really into writing or get those burst of writing creativity. That can be used within your craft. Writing a short story can be a type of manifestation/intention work. Write about someone overcoming a problem your facing. Or receiving/becoming something you want. It can be a powerful tool in your magick.

“You’ll Know It’s Working When It Feels Like Magic”

just thinking of how our meaning or purpose in life is merely to experience. eating an orange segment, hoping for snow, being in love, returning over and over to one painting, stepping outside for the full moon, submersion in water, having a favourite colour, knowing beauty, feeling alone, feeling connected, feeling longing… it is enough. 

Your craft is more than your tools

I see a lot of posts on #witchblr for baby witches saying you need to collect this and that when you are starting out. (So many lists!) As though you can't make magic without a particular starter kit of cups and cards and crystals. I don't think this kind of materialistic approach is useful.

Now, I'm not saying that it's not nice to have shiny rocks and floral potpourri, but it is not necessary. Tools can help focus and enhance spell work, but the spell comes from within first and foremost.

So my advice to baby witches is to not run around and spend all your coin on the aesthetic, but instead invest your time into research, reflection and meditation.

This will give you a much better idea of the things that will actually help you get the most out of your workings—instead of accumulating seasonings that will rot in your pantry—if you even feel you need anything at all.

Finally, if you research well you will probably find that what you have in your home and/or neighbourhood is all you need (markers, paper, salt, flour, matches, water, cups, books, playing cards, birthday candles, perfume, text articles and PDFs on the internet, rocks, leaves, etc.) in terms of tools.

New Age Things That Bother Me, A Witch

New Age Chakra. It totally ignores the actual history of Chakra and talks about it in ways that make little to no sense. It's not actually Chakra.

Light & Love rhetoric. Not everything is good and happy and nice. It is toxic positivity and it makes me so uncomfortable. It is also very harmful to people in general.

New Age Manifestation. It promises things that cannot happen and promotes this idea that when bad things happen you just don't try hard enough to manifest change and you need to try harder. It also doesn't tell you that you actually need to act on whatever you're manifesting.

Energy Healing. Pretends it can heal mental illness, physical illness, chronic illness, disabilities, and disorders. It cannot and never will be able to.

Crystal Healing. Pretends it can heal mental illness, physical illness, chronic illness, disabilities, and disorders. It cannot and never will be able to.

Spiritual Awakening. Pretends that your mental illness is actually just your psychic powers coming into being. It's not and this kind of rhetoric enables psychosis, delusions, and is extremely dangerous for mentally ill people. Do not romanticize us and pretend we have super powers. We don't.

Indigo Children. This straight up just romanticizes Autism, ADHD, and neurodivergency. It also dehumanizes people who are neurodivergent by making them seem like alien star children. Also is a way to ignore neurodivergency and prevent neurodivergent kids from receiving help.

Essential Oils. Pretends it can heal mental illness, physical illness, chronic illness, disabilities, and disorders. It cannot and never will be able to. These are only good for making rooms smell nice.

Riley Samels on Instagram / Etsy

Love as Acceptance

Caitlyn Siehl // Leonard Cohen, "Anthem" // Rumi, "Bitterweet" // trans. Anne Carson, "Euripides" // Sade Andria Zabala, "Coffee and Cigarettes" // tumblr acct @/gayassnatural // Anne Carson, "H of H Playbook" // William Shakespeare, "Sonnet 116" // Clementine von Radics, "Mouthful of Forevers" // Toni Morrison, "Jazz"

“You still crave lemonade, but the taste doesn’t satisfy you as much as it used to. You still crave summer, but sometimes you mean summer, five years ago.”

— Alida Nugent

By austinrutland

sometimes I'm like how do people get going with only 30 minutes in the morning, it takes me that long just to feed my cat, give him his insulin, use the bathroom, and start water heating for coffee/tea. that doesn't even get to making/eating/putting away food, taking my medications, drinking the coffee/tea, brushing my teeth/washing my face, and getting dressed.

I know some part of it is the labor thing where you can outsource some of it (buy coffee/breakfast someone else made instead of making it yourself to save time) or neglect your body (skip coffee/breakfast instead of making it to save time), and another part is the disability thing (not needing to deal w insulin shots & medications that need to be taken with food before you can start the day).

but man, I wish our culture/society was built to accommodate long slow mornings because despite a good number of people being able to get out of bed & be ready to start (commuting to) work within 30 mins, I don't think it's good collectively for us to be setting up schedules that require that. It's so unsustainable.

honestly the human brain is so small that you *will* forget how much beauty there is out there to experience unless you leave your house every three days. ik its fucked up but i promise its true